Sir Cliff - The art of improving with age

by Brendan de Beer.....

“Cliff! Cliff!”, shouted the excited middle-aged woman as Sir Cliff Richard emerged from his unassuming Renault MPV outside his vineyard retreat in Guia. Looking at least a few decades younger than his 72 years, dressed in denim Bermuda shorts and a short-sleeve checked shirt, he looks down at his watch and apologetically tells his female fan: “I have a meeting in a couple of minutes” (read interview with The Portugal News). But he smilingly obliges as she summons her husband over, who has taken refuge behind a tree, to take their photo. Sir Cliff then spots me armed with a camera, and before he can think of changing direction, I introduce myself and we both seem relieved upon realising the “meeting” Sir Cliff was rushing off to, had in fact just begun.